- The Canberra Region Tourism Awards provide an excellent platform for businesses to showcase our achievements, gain industry recognition and enhance our brand reputation, first benefit. Questacon entered the Tourism Awards in 2024 after a 7-year hiatus. In July 2024, we had just implemented our new Questacon Strategic Plan 2024-2029 which provided a new 20- year vision that Australians are inspired by science and technology and the opportunities it creates for the future. With our purpose being to create fun interactive learning experiences that stimulate engagement in science and technology. There are five strategic priorities, two of which resonate with our Tourism approach: Enhancing onsite offer, maximising our impact and influence. As an organisation, we felt it was important to assess where we were at from a tourism perspective and how we compared to other organisations in the industry.
- Industry bench marking. The submission process allowed us to reflect and evaluate our performance, strengths and areas for improvement.
- Self-reflection and a view of continuous improvement. We thought of the process as a ‘year in review’, conducting an analysis of our operations, customer service, marketing strategies, and visitor performance to appropriately spotlight our remarkable tourism efforts for the 23/24 financial year. We focused on our specific strengths and accomplishments and how we were driving sustainable growth in the visitor economy to build recognition and exposure for Questacon.
- Realising through this process that we had unique points of difference to others in the industry. So, we identified those areas where we excel, particularly with family friendly audiences. We accurately reflected our values and ambition to communicate the impact we’ve had on local and national tourism, including not only the work within the Centre but our national touring programs. In a landscape teeming with potential for innovation and enriched visitor experiences, Questacon stands as a pivotal hub of promoting scientific discovery, innovative technology and educational tourism. Our Brickman collaboration with CURIOSITY: Building Breakthroughs in LEGO Bricks exhibition was a significant addition to their galleries for the year.
- Questacon was proud to be the first organisation in the Canberra Region to achieve the Wheelchair Accessible badge through the Quality Tourism Framework. We are continuing to develop and focus on improving Questacon’s accessibility and are currently in the process of creating our first Disability Inclusion Action Plan that will provide a structured and nuanced approach to address organisational improvement for people with a disability and will consolidate Questacon’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
- The judges’ feedback, completed by industry professionals both locally and nationally, has been extremely valuable in highlighting strengths and gaps in our submission, which potentially reflect gaps in our operations and internal evaluation processes. This feedback will be used to enhance Questacon’s future delivery and data gathering, challenging us to improve.
- Driving ambition. Our ambition alongside the Tourism Awards has been to develop a comprehensive Tourism Plan – a 5-year blueprint and Action Plan for business planning with the aim of attracting and inspiring visitors while unifying various elements internally. Our aim is to boost our efficiency and effectiveness by leveraging data insights and expertise, exploring our identity and brand positioning, target markets, and audience analysis while ensuring key alignment with ACT T2030 and THRIVE 2030 strategies.
- Participating in the awards helped boost Questacon’s exposure to new visitors and tourism industry stakeholders, giving us a competitive advantage. We have gained recognition from peers which helps foster valuable relationships and collaborations.
- Recognition for staff. The energy within Questacon was high after both the wins. All staff proudly display the winning logos on their email signature blocks and it is featured on our website. We hope to keep the momentum going through engagement and fun … just like we did with the trophy as it went on a tour across all Questacon teams.
What’s New in May 2025
What’s New in May 2025
Expert Advice in Accessible Tourism Empowering Experiences specialises in guiding tourism businesses to identify and develop accessible tourism products and services. Founded as GetAboutAble Pty Ltd in 2015, we have grown from our Canberra base...
